Iran, Turkey, Russia sidelining US in fight against terrorism

The presidents of Iran, Turkey and Russia are to meet in the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss matters of common interest, especially regional issues and the ongoing fight against terrorists in Syria.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian and Turkish counterparts Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, respectively, will discuss the ongoing situation in the war-torn Arab country on Wednesday.

Presidents of the three countries, as guarantors of ceasefire in Syria, will hold the meeting on the same day that the Russian capital is to host Moscow International Security Conference, which will be attended by defense ministers and other high-ranking officials from about 30 countries.

The important point about the trilateral summit is total exclusion of Western countries, especially the United States, despite claims by Washington that it has been playing a leading role in the fight against terrorist groups in Syria.

A Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was quoted by the country’s Daily Sabah website as saying that the French President Emmanuel Macron had indicated his willingness to take part in the meeting, but his offer was turned down by Iran.

The official noted that although Macron was willing to partake in the Ankara summit and Turkey agreed to his presence, he was finally excluded due to opposition from Iran.

The Ankara summit will be the second such meeting among three countries’ presidents, the first of which was held in Russia’s resort city of Sochi on November 22 last year.

During the Sochi summit, Rouhani lauded the defeat of the Daesh terrorist group in Iraq and Syria, but underlined the need for continued battle against terrorism until the eradication of all Takfiri terrorist outfits in Syria.

Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei on Tuesday highlighted the significance of trilateral cooperation and said, “Cooperation among Iran, Russia and Turkey is an example of regional cooperation, which has resulted in considerable achievements.”

He added that Tehran-Moscow-Ankara cooperation on finding a solution to the crisis in Syria proved that such interaction could play a more effective role in solving regional issues, including the fight against terrorism.

The Iranian envoy emphasized that the Ankara summit and the Moscow conference would highlight the important point that “regional issues and problems can be solved only through regional talks.”

Sanaei added that the two simultaneous meetings “can lead to considerable results for regional peace and stability.”